Nikolay Kulemin

MOSCOW, May 11. /TASS/. Russian forward Nikolay Kulemin from NHL’s New York Islanders will not be able to join the national team for the 2016 IIHF World Championship currently underway in Russia, Oleg Znarok, the head coach of the Russian team, said on Wednesday.

The Russian player was called to the team on Monday after his club NY Islanders was knocked out from the NHL playoff series.

"Kulemin was not allowed to play," Znarok said.

Goaltender Shestyorkin to join national squad

According to Znarok, Russian national ice hockey team’s coaching staff plans to include young goaltender Igor Shestyorkin on the roster of the national squad for matches of the championship.

"We are including Shestyorkin in the roster," Znarok said.

Shestyorkin, 20, is a silver medalist of the 2015 IIHF Youth Hockey World Championship and played last season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) a total of seven matches for SKA St. Petersburg club.

The matches of the 2016 IIHF World Championship are held in the Russian capital of Moscow and in the country’s second largest city of St. Petersburg between May 6 and 22.

A total of 16 national teams, qualified to play in the 2016 IIHF World Championship, were divided into two groups. The 12,000-seat VTB Ice Palace in Moscow hosts the matches of Group A, which comprise the teams from Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Latvia, Norway, Denmark and Kazakhstan.

The 6,000-seat Yubileiny Arena hosts the matches of Group B teams, which are from Canada, Finland, the United States, Slovakia, Belarus, France, Germany and Hungary.